Insider trading is illegal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_trading Thus, your hedge fund guy that told you they're doing "insider trading"...he's either lying or extremely stupid like jail time stupidity.
No issue with HFT myself but big issue with any latency arbitrage that takes advantage of the fragmented nature of equity exchanges and the pay-to-play nature of it.
You provided an information free post with a sophomoric obscenity embedded in it. From that one would have to deduce you must not be an intelligent, well meaning person who happens to hold a different viewpoint, but either a middle schooler or someone with the intellect of a middle schooler. You've done nothing to dispel this deduction up to this point, but if you are capable of disagreeing in a rational, adult matter I'm sure people would be much more likely to take you seriously. As I said, there are rational arguments for allowing insider trading, you just don't appear to be aware of any of them.
According to some of the arguments/logics: Anyone who has an edge, even if that edge does not come from HFT or insider, is hurting the public because he/she takes money away from the public by having an edge? We all want the playing field to be level, but if you have an edge, that means the field is not level for me?
I totally disagree, were you around in the 80s when program trading came about? Many of current rules in affect were put in place to slow down program trading. If it not HFTs in ten years it will be something else, you learn to adapt and you can find ways to do so, study the areas where they are doing it, and when you discover them, buy options to hold for a minute then dump them. Trading is all about being able to adapt. Have safe Holiday all.
What did you adapt your trading into? Swing and longer holding periods? But that leads to lower sharpe ratios no?